DETROIT – Lions coach Jim Schwartz said he doesn’t think opponents are trying to provoke the Lions into committing personal fouls, an issue they’ve been dealing with all season and something that’s been an especially big problem the last two weeks.

“I wouldn’t say it’s any kind of provoking,” Schwartz said. “It’s stuff that happens within just about every single football game. There’s things that happen that you have to walk away from and these last two weeks we haven’t walked away from them. I don’t think it’s anything that anybody was particularly scheming to do or anything like that.”

The Lions lead the NFL with 26 personal fouls this year, according to Stats LLC, and committed three after-the-whistle penalties Sunday that cost them field position and possibly points in a 31-17 loss to the Saints.

Receiver Titus Young drew the worst of the flags when he shoved a defender in the face near the goal line. The penalty took the Lions out of a third-and-1 and made them settle for a field goal.

Last week, Ndamukong Suh was ejected from a game against the Packers and suspended two weeks for stomping on an opponent’s arm.

The discipline problems are starting to wear thin on a team that believes it can end an 11-year playoff drought but has just two wins in the past two months. Center Dominic Raiola lashed out when reporters approached him at his locker after the game, and Schwartz met with team captains on the plane ride home.

Schwartz benched Young for most of the second half after his penalty Sunday, but he hasn’t said if the rookie or others who committed what he describes as “selfish” penalties – return man Stefan Logan and tight end Brandon Pettigrew – will face any further discipline going forward.

Earlier this year, Schwartz demoted right tackle Gosder Cherilus for a game for an after-the-whistle personal foul at Tampa Bay, essentially benching him for a Week 2 win over the Chiefs.

Rashied Davis replaced Young as the third receiver Sunday, and some combination of Davis, Maurice Stovall and tight end Tony Scheffler could see more snaps Sunday against the Vikings if more punishment is ahead.

Notes: Running back Kevin Smith aggravated his high ankle sprain Sunday, but Schwartz said he doesn’t think the injury is any worse off than it was last week. Smith said his ankle gave out in the third quarter and prevented him from making cuts. Schwartz said the Lions “had a feeling that it was going to be something that would come up during the game.” Maurice Morris remains next in line in the backfield rotation. …

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley will be re-evaluated later this week after aggravating his season-long foot injury against the Saints. Fairley is playing with a screw in his left foot from an August surgery and won’t be 100 percent all year. Still, he’s coming off his best game of the season and the Lions need his presence Sunday with Suh serving the final game of his suspension.